Refugees Urged to go ahead with 6P program

By Simon

Kuala Lumpur (VOCR) 27 AUG: A fearful and controversial 6P program, which the government said it was primarily intended to only register illegal migrant workers, was since introduced for refugees and asylum seekers on 23^rd of August, this month.

Started calling on refugee community to send out its members to perform the 6P registration last Monday by UNHCR, it was harrowing experience that more than ten thousands of Burmese refugees turned up Tuesday to register in the Immigration office in Putrajaya. Yet, the ill-prepared immigration department said they could only process for 2500 a day and turning thousands away back home around at 2:00 pm on last Tuesday.



Waiting for instruction: Thousands of refugees throng at immigration department in
Putrajaya for bio-metric registration but thousands were reportedly send off as the
 immigration department has not enough capacity. (Photo-VOCR)   

Soon after, according to the update received from UNHCR office, UNHCR has been requested by the Malaysian government to assist in the process by verifying the true identity of each and every individual concerned and the program will include the taking of bio-data and biometric information of all individuals concerned. The impromptu exercise will take a number of months to complete.

It was learnt that to inform the individuals concerned, apparently UNHCR made the information spread via the network, "Facebook" after moments of thousands being forced to turn away. The first phase of exercise was conducted in Putrajaya immigration office from 23 to 26 of August, this month. And it was also informed that the second phase will commence in the month of September after the Hari Raya Holidays.

The following day as soon as the mass registration was conducted for refugees in Putrajaya last Tuesday, the Arakanese Refugee Community in cohorts with the unknown agent working for the 6P program set up the registering center at their office and asking charges RM-55 for a person. On contrary, other refugee communities from Myanmar organized sending out its members to Putrajaya Immigration office in batch in accordion with the instructions given by the registration officer in UNHCR Malaysia. 

Best guard: A RELA personal watching the refugees while lining up for
their turn to get registered in "6P" program. (Photo-VOCR)

Media reported that the home minister himself denied the order to get recognised refugees [UNHCR cardholders] registered under the ongoing 6P amnesty program, despite the media, Free Malaysia Today reporting that the home ministry issued an overnight order in last Monday night.

Back to the Tuesday irksome experience, there was reports that the authorities, police and rela beat some of the refugees include the children, mothers and elderly due to the mismanagement of UNHCR in which the scene turned so ugly and traumatic for refugees.

The Salvation Army group also claimed this morning that the government in this fingerprint process will take actions on the refugees—verifying the true identity of all concerned as there was a firm doubt in the inner circle of the government that thousands who entered into the country with work permit turned to seeking asylum in UNHCR Malaysia and many have become refugees to date. 

The move to register refugees and asylum seekers was strongly criticized by the Rights group who urged that refugees are different from migrant workers. By doing so, the fact that the entire refugee community are on alert and highly in fear over possible deportation after this registration as recently 11 of the ethnic Uighurs were deported back to China where they would face the harsh persecution.

The statement written in paper by the immigration authority was mostly different and some read: Tujuan: Puluang Ke Negara Asal (Purpose: Return to Home Country) whereas some are known as "Waiting for Work Permit".

However, for refugees and asylum seekers, the amnesty program sparked a great uncertainty and fear among refugees.

UNHCR when requested for further explanation yesterday morning by the COBEM [Coalition of Burma Ethnics in Malaysia] said that the ongoing program will never bring negative impact on refugees as the government is highly aware of the existing of refugees in their soil.

In light of fear over exercising deportation against refugees, it can be said that UNHCR Malaysia is falling under the flimflam of the Malaysian government and perhaps doubly proving that UNHCR is failed to protect its people who are the real victims of their respective motherhome persecution. 

An Epic of Deaths in a Foreign Soil

By Simon

Kuala Lumpur (VOCR) 19 AUG: Amidst much of the problems challenging the livelihood of refugees in Malaysia, death caused by accident on road, lack of medical treatment in detention centres and camps and the flawed diagnosis in hospitals that is believed to be purportedly lack of proper care for refugees with results of loss of many lives, is critically on top of the current issues vastly needing the international community support.

Chin refugees in Malaysia are solely under the umbrella of the two biggest organizations, namely, ACR (Alliance Chin Refugee) and CRC (Chin Refugee Committee) which are community-based organizations assisting enormous problems facing Chin refugees in terms of social welfare, intervention and protection and contact with the office of UNHCR for the cause of Chins. Industrious and invaluable, the two organizations are tasked to undertaking all related issues coming across Chin refugees in Malaysia.  

When interviewed with the current chairman of ACR, it was reportedly learnt that they have five cases of death since the start of this year –among which the fact that two are car-crushed accident and three are of hospital dead according to their information department. No further details issued. 

However, according to the information department, CRC is reportedly handling 24 cases of death of which two are of car accident related whereas four cases are of dead in detention centers and the rest of cases are reportedly known mainly as cancers, immediate collapse and malarias and TB. 

Mini-fellowship and community who attempt to stand by their own also partly assist their members but it is not possible to reach such communities in this regard. Therefore, this report is incredibly based on the information received by ACR and CRC to date. 

Meanwhile, according to the first-hand reports obtained by The VOCR, many of Chins currently detained in immigration detention camps and centers are still denied medical access no matter how far they are in critical condition and the rooted disease are said to be caused by rat-urine which is learnt to be mainly widespread in every detention center and camp besides matters of insufficient food provision, small scale of physical abuse and poor maintenance of sanitation. 

When it comes to the terms—hospitalization and referral by outside clinic's doctors, refugees are always poorly treated as third persons in the state-run hospitals meaning that refugees are intentionally made waiting in queue for a very long time and given appointment unfairly unlike the locals and people from third countries. 

Of particular concern are daily visitors to the clinics run by UNHCR and NGOs of which Chin refugees are more than up to eighty percent in total according to their respective records exclusive of being unrecorded visitors to the private clinics by their own attempts.

"Because of the impact of high anxiety lifestyle and unceasing fear for arrest, many come to seek medical treatment in the clinics", said one of the clinic staffs who request to remain anonymous.  

Chin Refugee Families Under Threat

By Simon

Kuala Lumpur (VOCR) 17 Aug: Members of CDAC (Chin Disciplinary Action Committee), John Lian, 27, married with one child, from Hmunhalh village and Herh Bik, 30, single, from Sialam village both from Thantlang Township, Chin State were bloodily attacked and slashed with weapons by thugs of gang in their residence nearby in Panda Mewah eastern Kuala Lumpur. 

John Lian was several times hit with dagger on his head and back and stitching his entire wounds in more than 15 places and Herh Bik, with being widely slashed in his neck and thought he was dead, was stitched in many places in hospital. With the daring rescue of their good friend who lives very far in different district, they were taken to UKM hospital at midnight from their hideout--the bush. 

According to the victims, in fear of bringing noises to the locals, they, as volunteer leaders for the area, went out intervening their drunken villagers having a fight each other at the football ground nearby at the late night. The two leaders broke up the groups and urged them to immediately go back home and not to have a fight but rather be quiet in the foreign soil. However, thugs of gangs approached them and intentionally beating the two leaders brutally and used daggers and other materials—misunderstanding them [the Two] as the sole causer of the problem.

So much frustrated of seeing the two leaders being attacked brutally, groups of drunken Chin refugees, who were prepared for fight, turned back to responding the local thugs. It was said that two among many of the gangs were heavily wounded, too. Minutes later, all Chin refugees disappeared--leaving their two leaders lay in pool of blood in the bush for their safety when noticed that groups of gangsters were coming along.

Over the whole night, gangsters holding weapons with motor-bikes rounded up the areas where hundreds of Chin refugees and threatening the environment.

The thugs received response from Chin refugees are known as a group those exercise extortion against the refugees, improperly beating those returning back from work and molesting refugee girls in daylight in public.

In addition, Tha Peng alongside his family members, leader of Hriphi Fellowship, was recently often and often times disrupted and attacked by the Indian gangster whom he describes as drug-dealer championing in the area of many Chin refugees' residence in Jalan Ipoh. I am terribly in fearful condition for the family's lives as signals of their activity showing off that some days they would probably attack heavily, quoted him as saying. 

In earlier of this year, there had been once incident occurred that because of the reaction against the thugs, many of Chin refugees mostly from Hriphi Fellowship stranding in Jalan Ipoh had to sacrifice RM-4000 to group of thugs. Failure to comply with the mean asking, there was a threat that many lives will be in danger or some can even be murdered.  

    

The victim explained when asked of reason of incident taken place "when one of the gangsters was caught red-handed while stealing hand-phones and other properties of Chin refugee families and prepared to hand him over to the police, the rest of his gang members came in and strongly attacked group of Chin refugees who did not notice the arrestee was a thug and tracked them down until their community fellowship house that they took a shield".

Our reaction towards the gangs came as it was inevitable but needed to take actions for their protection no matter what happened despite knowing that being risky.

When it comes to issues--gang attack and gangstering activity in Malaysia, according to one of the high ranked officers in OPI department in UNHCR office in Malaysia, it was always sad to say that this kind of thugs have firm links with the authority and getting local supports for taking responsibility in the occupied area in the event of noises and problems came out from other areas of thugs. 

Three of the victims namely mentioned above were brought up to UNHCR office with the help of the health coordinator of CRC(Chin Refugee Committee) in order to report about what the threatening environment going on among the society of Chin refugees. 

It was a crystal clear that UNHCR office is totally disable to sort out such problems in terms of the cruel local gang attack and their raids against the refugees in Malaysia, although having notion that the country not being of a signatory one according to the United Nations Convention in 1951.   

Over the years, reports obtained by The VOCR can highly witness that this kind of gang attack is not newly peculiar things bring about in the society of refugees from Myanmar but it rather be already common for gangsters attacking against the innocent refugees.

Amnesty Not For Refugees, Warned UNHCR

By Simon

Kuala Lumpur (VOCR) 11 August: It has been weeks since the Putrajaya government announced the massive illegal foreign workers legalization 6P programme in 11 July according to the state-run newspaper, The Star. The programme includes registration, legalization, amnesty, supervision, enforcement and deportation. The legalization and amnesty exercise was supposed to be initiated for only "Two-weeks" according to its earlier report. Under the lead of the Home Ministry, the appointed agencies have been so far monitoring the execution of the programme since its inception. 

But it is learnt that it is being commenced and further details of whether there will be any extension will be still unidentified. 

However, it is rumored that it can take more than six months by dint of the urge of many agencies including NGOs and the local companies. 

The foreigner analysts believe that the move of this programme would partly help the country to cut down the illegal foreign workers and at the same time their details would be keyed into the biometric system imposed by the Home Ministry. And whether good or bad, it will be interested to see the management of the government on this biometric system.

Soon after, late of last month, the UNHCR office has called on refugee communities and giving a fresh warning not to do this programme as UNHCR has had a closed-door discussion with the government regarding the refugee issues. 

Malaysia is a transit home for hundreds of thousands of refugees—refugees from neighboring countries as far as middle east countries, many of recognised refugees and asylum-seekers working in factories, companies and several sectors facing enormous problems; many of them being forced to do the programme or else fired by their employers on denial of doing so, reported the advocate Chin Refugee Committee (CRC).

Recently, Ma Shing Thang, a Chin recognised refugee from Mindat Township, who worked in Stilum Company in Shah Alam, northern Kuala Lumpur, was physically abused before he was fired by his employer because of refusing to do the 6P programme despite working in that company for more than 2 years.  Many Chin refugees, like him, facing fresh problems with other employers and agents as the fact that the employers fear that they would not be spared the legal prosecution after the end of the programme. 

Much of the problems facing Chin refugees in this regard have been well handled by the advocate Chin refugee community to date. And many employers come to comprehend what has been stressed.

The next step after the end of this massive programme on how the government will take actions against refugees and asylum-seekers is unceasingly worrisome element for the entire refugee community in Malaysia.